Gina LeVay (b.1978, USA) holds an MFA in Photography and related Media from the School of Visual Arts. LeVay is based in New York and works both in the U.S. and abroad, on independent and commissioned projects. Her award-winning work “The Sandhog Project,” was exhibited as a large-scale photo and video installation at New York’s Grand Central Terminal in 2006. LeVay has been a grant recipient of The Andrew Rhodes Fund for Young Artists through The Visual Arts Foundation, and featured as one of PDN’s 30. Gina is an alumnus and current staff member of The Eddie Adams Workshop. Her book “Sandhogs” about the tunnel miners of New York was published this month by Powerhouse Books.

About the Photograph:

“Jim Donovan is a second generation sandhog of 30 years. This portrait was shot in a commercial studio in NYC. I wanted to isolate the workers from the tunnel environment to focus on their individuality and physicality. Jim is surrounded by his oldest friends who also work on his same day shift on City Water Tunnel #3. I asked the hogs to come directly to the studio after the shift without changing or cleaning up and was overwhelmed with the large amount of guys that showed, not to mention their appreciation and focused energy during the formal portrait session. Although most of the sandhog work in my project is shot on medium format camera and film, this studio work was shot with a Leaf digital back. I found the digital capture added another element to the shoot as the sandhogs became more engaged watching it unfold and were excited about contributing ideas of how they or their fellow hogs should be portrayed and captured–generating a more creative collaboration with myself and the sandhogs.”

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Matt Slaby (b. 1979, USA) is a photographer based in Denver, Colorado. Before turning his attention to photography, he traveled the western United States as a wild-land firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service Hotshots also working winters as an EMT with a metropolitan ambulance service. Slaby interned at U.S. News & World Report covering the 2006 congressional elections and the Washington, D.C. political circuit, including the White House and U.S. Capitol. He has a background in writing and literature and holds a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. His current photographic efforts are divided between the Rocky Mountain West and Latin America. His clients include: TIME, Newsweek, SPIN, Outdoor Life, XXL, Mother Jones, Audubon Magazine and others.

About the Photograph:

“A Wyoming travelogue in one act. Driving all night into the heart of Wyoming, I finally pulled the rental car off the road to rest. I reclined the seat but quickly sat back up, exhausted but unable to sleep. Peeking out the windows of this peculiar car, the world had suddenly changed, refocussed through these strange, little frames, their inset into the body of the automobile making them appear as awkward maritime port-holes. Lost in a sleepless haze, the metaphor seemed appropriate. It is how we travel, always peeking through a window into another world that is not completely ours, those foreign places we pass by at 65 mph, rapid-fire zoo exhibits, places we imagine as much as we experience.

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Phillip Toledano (1977, England) was born to a French Moroccan mother, and an American father. He believes that photographs should be like unfinished sentences. There should always be space for questions. Phillip’s work is primarily socio-political, and varies in medium, from photography, to installation. His first book, entitled “Bankrupt” (Photographs of recently vacated offices) was published by Twin Palms in 2005. His new book, ‘Phone Sex’ was published in 2008. ‘Days with my Father’, will be published in the spring of 2010. Phillip’s most recent project was installation art, not photography. Entitled ‘America, the gift shop”, the premise was: If George Bush’s foreign policy had a souvenir shop, what would it sell? This work was shown at the Center for photography at Woodstock. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper, The London Times amongst others. He has exhibited worldwide.

About the Photograph:

“When I was taking pictures of my father, I felt like someone drinking deeply from the well for a last time, before setting out on a long journey alone. I wanted to remember as much as possible. To see as much as I could, to remember smells, conversations, the light on my father’s face when he smiled, when he was angry. It was very strange, spending time with someone I knew would die soon (we both knew, and where both waiting for it). I did the project never thinking it would speak to other people. It’s funny, now, in retrospect, that something I thought was so personal is so universal. A big part of the project now has been the reaction from others. It’s incredible getting emails from people who want to reconnect with their estranged fathers, after looking at the work. Or from families, who’ve looked at the photos together. I have to say, it’s been an honor to help people.”

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Eoin O Conaill (b.1979, Ireland) completed a B.A. in Documentary Photography at University of Wales, Newport in 2003. Much of his work has been concerned with the idea of place and identity and his current project Common Place is a visual exploration of Ireland during the recent period of rapid cultural and economic change. He has exhibited his work in solo and group exhibitions throughout Ireland and Europe, most recently in Gallery of Photography, Dublin, ev+a International Visual Art Exhibition, Limerick, 2009, and at the International Festival of Photography, Lodz, Poland. In 2008 he received the Belmont Mill National Award and was awarded the Gallery of Photography Artist’s Award in 2009.

About the Photograph:

“This image was made in the north of Ireland in a city called Derry and is part of a series I have made throughout the country over the past few years looking at the everyday landscape and at the often overlooked local place and space. I wanted to document the shifting visual contours of rural and urban life but also to explore the ideas and perceptions of modern Ireland. This image was made on a foggy winter morning and is of a car park attendant in his small and cluttered working environment on William Street. What interested me is that this is a part of the ordinary landscape that is in transition – the attendant has not yet been replaced by smart card speed of the newer multi-story car-parks. The photograph holds this tension between the local and the global, that which is vanishing and that which is newly emerging.”

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Ross Taylor (b.1971, USA) is a recently hired staff photographer for The Virginian-Pilot. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and was last employed at the Hartford Courant newspaper. Taylor was named the 2007 Region one (New England) Photographer of the Year and is a two-time Photographer of the Year (North Carolina) whose work has appeared on the cover of the National Press Photographers “Best of Photojournalism” magazine. He has won numerous international, national and regional awards as well as one of the Associated Press Photo’s of the Century awards.

About the Photograph:

“This picture of four year old Lindsey Reelick dressed as Cinderella was taken at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. It was Halloween. She and other children in the hospital were recipients of the “Reverse Trick or Treating” where staff members came by and delivered goodies to the children. I was supposed to follow them but felt too rushed and wasn’t making any pictures more than what was expected. After I saw this girl I asked her mom if I could just spend time with them, maybe half an hour or so. It gave me the opportunity to work in a more relaxed, natural manner, and ultimately this moment happened.”

Kuni Takahashi (b. 1966, Japan) came to the United States in 1990 and studied photojournalism at the Maine Photo Workshops, the New England School of Photography in Boston and the Eddie Adams Workshop in New York. He joined the Chicago Tribune as a staff photographer in 2004 after spending eight years as a staff photographer at the Boston Herald. Takahashi has covered major domestic and international events and won many photography awards, including competitions by World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International (POYi), National Press Photographers Association. He was also named as Boston Press Photographers Association’s Photographer of the Year in 1996 and 2003. He is currently based in Mumbai.

About the Photograph:

“Sixty-nine-year old Rosary Higgins was one of the subjects for the project, “Illinois’ hidden poverty”. Rosary, who has no income aside from a monthly Social Security check of $650, barely scrapes by with food from the pantry and getting her rent discounted by picking up litter around her building. She was a very patriotic person. She wore an American flag scarf all the time – her trademark. She often talked about her concerns and sympathies for U.S soldiers but she was very angry at the government for its health care and welfare policies.One late afternoon, I was spending time with her outside her apartment. As the late afternoon sunlight was slipping through between the trees, she began to talk about how angry she was about the government not taking care of poor seniors like herself who are stuck in poverty despite their efforts to get out. At one moment, she put her head down and held her forehead as if she had annoying headache. I made a few frames.”

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Radhika Chalasani (b. 1966, USA) spent six years living in Asia where she covered Vietnam as it emerged from years of isolation. Then later moved to Kenya to cover news events including the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, the beginning of the civil war in Zaire, and famine in Sudan. Radhika’s work from Africa was shown at the Visa Pour l’Image Festival in Perpignan, France and received four awards in the POY competition in the U.S. She received the “Prix Special du Jury” at the Festival International du Scoop et Journalism in Angers, France for her images of famine in Sudan. Her work has also been selected twice for The Communication Arts Photography Annual as well as exhibited in several group shows. Her most recent work on Indian widows, and Hurricane Graffiti received recognition in the 2007 International Photography Awards with ASMP.

About the Photograph:

“I thought this photo perfectly illustrated what was going on in that tiny town with over twenty pharmacies and two hundred dentists. U.S. Customs estimates that one million seniors cross at that point each day in the winter months mostly to buy medications that are cheaper than in the U.S. even with medicare. It’s actually illegal to bring the medications into the U.S. but the customs people let it all go through. I assume because they don’t want to be seen throwing seniors in jail. The irony was that my first day there I was the only one who got called aside for questioning because they’d never seen an American passport with so many stamps and extra pages added in. I was probably the only person not bringing illegal imports in! Most of the seniors go there every year and had nothing but good things to say about the quality of care they received or the quality of medications they purchased.”

Chip Litherland (b. 1977, USA) is an award-winning photographer based in Sarasota, Florida. A graduate of the fine arts school at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Chip went on to develop the skills of community photojournalism through internships at the Greeley Tribune, Longmont Daily Times-Call, The Gazette in Colorado Springs, and The Dallas Morning News. He took his current position as a staff photographer at the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune seven years ago, where he has developed his vision. That vision, which is fueled by an addiction to color and strong, graphic compositions, has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, Best of Photojournalism, Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, and the National Press Photographer’s Association. He is currently a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and ESPN the Magazine.
About the Photograph:

“My main goal is always to find a photo that transcends any assignment. This photo was simply from a local elementary school during a field day of sorts – celebrating the reached goal of the students in a reading program. In the grand scheme of things, not a huge deal to the world, but in the world of these kids it was. As a community photojournalist, I’m often thrown into situations and events over and over (and over) again, year after year, and trying to making something new and telling is always the challenge. I take it as such and try to make the most compelling image I can. As for this image, I was scanning the crowd, when I saw this kid jammed up against the fence. I framed it up tightly to reinforce the claustrophobic feeling the scene already had, leaving the focus on the little things like the body language of the young girl, the row of little legs, the Spider-man shirt, and obviously his face. For me, it sums up elementary school – and the mindset of being trapped at school itself.”

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Lance Rosenfield (b. 1972, United States) is a freelance photographer based in Austin, Texas. In addition to shooting editorial and commercial assignments for clients including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and United Way, he concentrates on personal work such as ‘Thirst for Grit’ in which he presents the life and times of modern-day small-town rodeo cowboys in Texas. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in Texas and California and group shows in Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, and New York. Lance was selected to the Eddie Adams Barnstorm Workshop in 2007, was a finalist in the 2009 Emerging Photographer Grant awarded by the Magnum Foundation, and is a 2010 Black & White Magazine Spotlight photographer. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Austin Center for Photography and is a founding member of Texas Toast Photo Show.

About the Photograph:
“In their semi-itinerant ways, hauling from one small-town to the next across the wide expanse of Texas, rodeo cowboys find late-night roadside diners for hot meals and a break from the long road. When I returned to Austin in 2006 after eight years in California, I wanted to undertake a personal project in which I could reconnect with my home state of Texas. I stumbled onto the world of rodeo and latched on. The lives and community of the rodeo riders struck me as fascinating in their camaraderie and wayfaring lifestyles. Not only do these men live up to their folk-legend reputations, I found that many of them live in big cities like San Antonio and carry jobs in the construction and oil industries. They identify themselves as rodeo cowboys through and through, and it seems they can live no other way. As 44-year old bronc rider Jeffrey Miller says, My greatest fear right now in life other than not making it to Heaven is having to retire from rodeo. This is an on-going project and I have formed friendships with a number of the characters in the story, namely the two finishing a meal in the photo above.”

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Carlos Luján (b.1975, Spain) studied image and sound and later photography at the school of Arts and Crafts of Valencia, Spain. He is currently working and publishing in several Spanish (El País Semanal, XL Semanal, GEO, Yo Dona) and International (Il Sole 24h, Newsweek, Marie Claire, Financial Times Magazine, Corrier International, Le Monde…) newspapers and magazines. He has always been interested in working on social themes, that includes several reportage’s. Carlos has received grants and prizes from: The Culture Ministry of Spain, Injuve prize of Photography, Nuevo Talento Fnac de Fotografía 2004 (Spain). He is member of the Spanish photo collective NOPHOTO and lives in Madrid.

About the Photograph:

“The Asian district in Paris is a work on the religious, cultural and daily life of an important and large part of the Parisian population. This community is composed of Chinese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese. They are all well integrated into the western dynamics. However it is impossible not to notice their behaviour and their philosophy of life which have strong roots with their origins. They are not willing to forget their origin nor do they want the future generation to forget them.”

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Jamey, 18 & one month pregnant, shares a smoke with her mother moments before her wedding. Ohio, 2007

Kainaz Amaria (b. 1978, USA & India) is a photojournalist and multimedia producer with a B.A. in international relations from Boston University (2000) and a M.A. in visual communication from Ohio University (2008). After OU she completed photography internships at US News & World Report in Washington D.C. and with the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. Her images and multimedia projects have been recognized by numerous contests including the CPOY, Women in Photojournalism, Atlanta Photojournalism Conference, the NPPA Multimedia Contest, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and by the South Asian Journalist Association. Kainaz was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Mumbai, India, where she will be based beginning November 2009.

About the Photograph:

“I made this image while working on my first picture essay during my graduate studies at Ohio University. The essay was a broad look at how the coal mining industry effected Southeastern Ohio. Coal mining once dominated this Appalachian region, however as the resource ran out, corporations left town leaving the surrounding communities in dire economic conditions. While spending time with people in this region, I witnessed the cyclical nature of poverty passed down from one generation to another. Many times it began with teenagers having children with little resources to raise a family. I wanted to somehow capture that in an image. I met Jamey at her high school prom. She and her boyfriend were inseparable on the dance floor, and as they passionately embraced I began making their picture. They later told me that Jamey was pregnant and they were getting married the following weekend.”

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Adam Panczuk (b.1978, Poland). After finishing secondary school, Adam moved to Poznań, where he took up studies at the University of Economics and Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan. He graduated in 2005.and traveled through Asia from the Mid East to Siam taking photos. He reported on rickshaw pullers in India and on brothels in Bangkok. Five years ago he started working on a project about a Polish village which focused on the relationship between human beings and their relation to the earth, the seasons. In 2009 he won first prize at the Grand Press Photo in Poland and was also selected for the short list at the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards. He has also been awarded from the National Geographic Photography Contest.

About the Photograph:

“The photo comes from the Karczeby series. Karczeby in one of the dialects spoken in the east of Poland, which is a mixture of Polish and Belorussian. It is also a vernacular word for people strongly attached to the land they cultivate. A Karczeb is also called a stump with roots still stuck in the earth after the tree has been cut down – allegorical for the problems the various aggressive authorities have had with these people, trying to eradicate or dislocate them. However, they still stand tall on their land. And when a Karczeb farmer’s life comes to an end, he is buried in his soil, later on tilled by his children or grandchildren. In the photo, Rafal, who graduated from Law school at Warsaw University returned to father’s house to help him cultivate his 70-hectares farm.”

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Graeme Jennings (b. 1978, New Zealand) grew up in Auckland and completed a course in photography at the Unitec Institute of Technology in 1998. In 2001 he moved to England and freelanced as a news photographer and traveled extensively throughout Eastern Europe. Graeme has photographed the impact of landmines in Bosnia Herzegovina for the NGO Norwegian Peoples Aid. He has also under taken assignments in Azerbaijan, and the southern Russian republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, where he has photographed internally displaced populations for the Danish Refugee Council. Graeme’s work has appeared in GEO and the British Journal of photography. In 2008 he moved to the States and is currently based in Washington D.C.

About the Photograph:

“I took this photograph in the small village of Kuliga – A former collective farm with a population of twelve. The village is located in the Komi Republic, a region located in the far north of the Russian European plain. The elderly woman in the foreground is on her way home after visiting a friend for tea in a nearby house. Following the dissolution of socialism and the subsequent economic reforms of the 1990’s, the collective farms and state run enterprises that provided a means of employment and prosperity for rural villages were forced to close. The few who have remained are mostly the old and alienated, struggling with a lack of identity and resolve. With an entire ideology suddenly gone, along with the lack of employment opportunities, the social fabric of the Russian village has slowly fallen apart. Of the approximate 150,000 of Russia’s rural villages, over 13,000 have been abandoned altogether as more and more people migrate to the cities.”

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About...

Photographer and photo editor Geoffrey Hiller has created Verve Photo to feature photographs and interviews by the finest contemporary image makers today. Verve Photo is a reminder of the power of the still image. Verve Photo will also point you to new photo agencies, publications, and inspiring multimedia projects.